A public-sector methodology that anyone can use, for free
PM² — pronounced “P-M squared” — is the project management methodology developed and endorsed by the European Commission. It is the Commission’s official methodology, and it does not try to be original: it deliberately incorporates elements from widely accepted practice, drawing on PMBOK, PRINCE2, IPMA-ICB, CMMI and TEMPO, together with the operational experience of the EU institutions themselves.
What makes it unusual is not the content but the licence. In 2016 the Commission published the Open Edition of the PM² Guide, freely available through the EU Publications Office, and it has kept publishing revisions the same way. Anybody can download the full methodology, use it, and adapt it — which is rare among the established project frameworks.
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What the methodology actually contains
PM² is built from five components. Three of them are the kind of thing every methodology has; the fourth and fifth are what distinguish it.
A project governance structure
Defined roles and bodies, with the accountability split between the requesting side and the providing side made explicit. This is the part that makes PM² workable inside large institutions with divided responsibilities.
Process guidelines
A lifecycle with defined phases, and guidance on what has to happen in each — including the reviews and approvals that move a project from one phase to the next.
Artefact templates
A complete set of documents, from the project charter through to the project-end report, supplied as templates rather than described in the abstract.
Guidelines for using the artefacts
Advice on how much to fill in, and when. The templates without this guidance are what turns a methodology into paperwork.
A set of effective mindsets
Explicit behavioural principles for project teams. This is the most distinctive part: PM² states that method alone does not deliver projects, and writes the attitudes down rather than hoping for them.
The four phases of the project lifecycle
| Phase | What happens | Typical exit |
|---|---|---|
| Initiating | The need is stated, the project is defined at a high level, and its justification is established. | The project charter is approved and the project may proceed to planning. |
| Planning | The approach, scope, schedule, cost, risks and quality arrangements are worked out in detail. | The project handbook and plans are approved, and execution is authorised. |
| Executing | The work is produced and coordinated, and the deliverables are accepted by the requesting side. | The deliverables are formally accepted. |
| Closing | The project is wound up, the outcome reviewed and the lessons captured. | The project-end report is approved and the project is administratively closed. |
Running alongside all four is monitoring and control, which is not a phase but a continuous activity. That distinction matters in practice and in the exam: control is not something that happens between phases, it happens throughout them.
Who uses it, and why
PM² was built for the European institutions, and that is still where it is most heavily used. But its natural audience is wider: any organisation that runs projects with EU funding, any supplier delivering into an EU institution, and any public body that wants an established methodology without a licence fee.
It also travels well because it was translated into numerous languages to support the roll-out across European countries, and because the governance model fits organisations where the person who wants the outcome and the person who delivers it sit in different departments — which describes most of the public sector and a good deal of the private one.
PM² next to PRINCE2 and AgilePM
| PM² | PRINCE2 | AgilePM | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Owner | European Commission | Commercial scheme owner | Commercial scheme owner |
| Guide | Free to download | Purchased | Purchased |
| Emphasis | Governance, artefacts and mindsets | Principles, themes and processes | Iterative delivery within fixed time and cost |
| Strongest fit | EU-funded and public-sector projects | Projects needing a controlled, tailorable structure | Projects where requirements evolve during delivery |
They are not mutually exclusive, and PM² makes no claim to replace them — it borrows from both traditions openly. If you are choosing between certifications rather than methodologies, the project management certification pages set out what each one examines.
How it developed
PM² grew inside the Commission over more than a decade, and the sequence explains the shape of the methodology: governance first, method second, openness last.
| Year | Milestone |
|---|---|
| 2007 | Roles and responsibilities introduced for IT projects |
| 2008 | PM² introduced, first version released via the PM² Wiki |
| 2009 | Pilot implementation, and the first PM² project management courses |
| 2011 | Endorsement by the CTI |
| 2012 | PM² Training Programme for IT projects; PM² Guide, 1st Edition; courses for business managers |
| 2013 | PM² Methodology 2.0 and the 2nd Edition of the Guide; certification Level 2 introduced |
| 2014–2016 | Agile@EC released, then the Agile@EC Guide; Methodology Guide 2.5 |
| 2016 | The Open Edition of the PM² Guide — the methodology becomes publicly available |
| 2018 | First Open PM² Conference, and a further edition of the Guide |
| Since | Periodic revisions, and companion guides covering programme and portfolio management |
Certification and how to prepare
The methodology is free; certification is a separate matter. The Commission publishes and maintains the guide, while examination and certification are delivered through training organisations and the PM² community, and free introductory courses are available through the EU Academy.
At Foundation level the exam tests the vocabulary, the governance model, the lifecycle and the artefacts — and, characteristically for PM², the mindsets. Candidates coming from PRINCE2 usually find the lifecycle familiar and the artefact set unfamiliar; candidates coming from PMBOK find the opposite. Our PM² Foundation course covers both gaps, and the PM² Foundation simulator lets you check where you actually stand before booking.
Frequently asked questions
Is the PM² guide really free?
Yes. The Open Edition is published by the European Commission and can be downloaded at no cost from the EU Publications Office. That covers the methodology itself, including the artefact templates.
Do I need PM² to manage an EU-funded project?
It is not universally mandatory, but it is the Commission’s own methodology and its governance model and artefacts are what many EU-funded programmes expect to see. Using it removes an argument you would otherwise have to have.
How is PM² different from PRINCE2?
PM² borrows from PRINCE2 rather than competing with it. The visible differences are the open licence, a heavier emphasis on ready-made artefacts, the explicit split between the requesting and providing sides, and the mindsets — behavioural guidance that PRINCE2 leaves largely implicit.
Is there an agile version?
Yes. PM²-Agile extends the methodology for teams working iteratively, and grew out of the Agile@EC work that started in 2014.
What does the Foundation exam cover?
The governance structure and roles, the four lifecycle phases and their artefacts, monitoring and control, and the mindsets. It is a knowledge-level exam: recall and comprehension rather than application.
Which certification should I take if I already hold PRINCE2?
PM² Foundation is short work if you already think in governed lifecycles — the effort goes into the artefact set and the terminology. Whether it is worth holding depends on whether you work with EU institutions or EU funding. If you do, it is; if you do not, PRINCE2 or AgilePM may serve you better.
Working on an EU-funded project and unsure whether PM² is expected of you? Tell us the programme and your role, and we will tell you what the methodology would actually require — and whether certification is worth it in your case. Get in touch.
Related pages
PM² is published and maintained by the European Commission, which revises the guide periodically. This page explains the methodology in our own words; the guide itself is the authoritative source and is available free of charge from the Commission.
